Field trip tries to promote religious, cultural understanding

Tuesday

May 27, 2014 at 9:30 AMMay 27, 2014 at 3:57 PM

By Lisa.Ermak@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4219

Try to mix religion with school and things can get sticky.If done the right way, however, combining both can lead to deeper understanding for students.It’s a lesson teachers at Zeeland’s Cityside Middle School have figured out.Per the Michigan curriculum, in seventh grade social studies, students study the growth and development of world religions, their systems of thought and cultural styles. The students learn about Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which are recognized as the top five world religions because of their number of adherents and the influence on the modern world.In order to make the lessons more real, each year Jill Feeley and Jessica Kiwiet’s social studies classes spend a day visiting several different houses of worship in West Michigan.The idea is to promote an understanding of the world and dispel misconceptions and fears that come with religious naivete.“The whole trip is about understanding your neighbor,” Kiwiet said. “You are no longer living in a world that’s minute. You have to understand the global community because that’s what we live in now.”During the daylong trip, the classes visit a Jewish temple, Islamic mosque, Hindu temple, Christian Reformed church and have lunch at a Japanese hibachi restaurant.Kiwiet said they always ask families and their students to discuss their belief systems prior to the trip so students know what their beliefs and values are. Parents are also invited to come along on the trip.“We’re not doing this so you can make a choice about your religion,” Kiwiet said. “We’re not shopping around.”The teachers are also very clear that no religion will be promoted during the trip. Rather, Feeley and Kiwiet want to make sure students are respectful. Students are asked to dress modestly and told that at some stops they will be asked to remove their shoes or the girls to cover this heads.“We are very careful to not step on anybody’s toes,” Kiwiet said.Presentations on site address basic beliefs, customs and holidays within each faith and students are asked to prepare questions ahead to ask of the designated speaker at each location.Rabbi Michael Schadick hosts the Cityside students each year and “hundreds of others” at the Jewish temple in Grand Rapids where he has been rabbi for 14 years.“It’s very important to remind students that not everyone is the same. We are certainly blessed to live in America,” he said, “but sometimes we forget that people out there don’t always worship and believe what we believe and it’s nice to connect with those people.”Visiting a synagogue or another house of worship, he said, breaks down some of those barriers or mythical understandings students might have about another’s house of worship or core values.“In the end," Schadick said, "I think most of the students come to find out we’re more similar than not.”— Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelLisa.